Ellen Baumler's Blog, page 27

Cowboy Boots

Imagine shoes without a left and a right. There was a time when ready-made shoes had to be broken in to fit. Only custom-made shoes and boots had a left and a right. There were basically two styles of boots worn on the early frontier. One was Hessian boots, worn by the German mercenaries who fought for the English during the Revolutionary War. Hessian boots came below the knee and had a large v-cut top with a decorative tassel. Wellingtons were the other style, made popular after 1815 when th...

Ben Greenough

The life of Red Lodge pioneer Ben Greenough was one adventure after another. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and arrived in Billings penniless and hungry in the winter of 1886. He courageously walked into the Headquarters Hotel, asked for a job, and was hired as the hotel’s yard man and porter. In this capacity, he met Martha Jane Canary, otherwise known as Calamity Jane. One of Greenough’s jobs was to build fires in the hotel rooms before the guests arose in the morning. He bought the cord...

Queenie

Dalmatians have long been associated with fire stations, but their service goes back to at least the seventeenth century. The breed has a calming effect on horses, and this made the dogs a valuable asset. Generations of the familiar black and white spotted dogs, also called Coach dogs, traveled with carriages and stagecoaches. They ran alongside the coaches in pairs protecting the horses from other dogs that ran out as the horses passed by. The special connection Dalmatians see...

Friday Photo: High Ore Mine

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, ST 001.144N.A. Forsyth captured this stereoview of workers coming off shift at Butte's High Ore Mine circa 1909. Click the photo for a bigger version.

P.S. The same photographer snapped this humorous photo of "miners."

Mining Camp New Year’s

Martha Edgerton Plassman wrote in 1926 about early New Year’s celebrations in Montana and how they evolved as times changed. On New Year’s Day at Bannack in 1863, fourteen-year-old Martha and two other young girls set out to keep the custom of visiting. There were few women in the mining camp, and no proper houses to call upon, and so the three stopped at George Chrisman’s cabin, then moved down the street to Thompson and Swift’s general store. Inside they found Henry Plummer—later hanged by...

Mules in the Mines

As electricity came to the mines in Butte in 1915, mules were phased out. Miners were sorry to see them go as they added so much personality to the dangerous work. Some mules loved the miners’ rough caresses and others would bite or kick and wanted no human attention. Hundreds of mules worked in miles of tunnels beneath Butte. Mules went below loaded vertically on the hoist, head down. Once there, they never again saw the light of day until they retired—if they were lucky. Now Kate–she was a...

Friday Photo: Red Lodge Bakery

Montana Historical Society Photograph ArchivesThe snug interior of the Sconfienza Bakery and Grocery in Red Lodge looks like a cozy place to gather. The photo was taken circa 1910-1920.

Christmas in Helena 1884

One of the coldest holidays on record in Montana was that of 1884 when temperatures dipped to 30 degrees below zero. That Christmas Eve there was a foot of new snow as some fifty children assembled at the Episcopal Church at Grand and Warren in Helena. They stood in awe of the Christmas tree decorated with ripe, golden fruit. With mouths watering, they anticipated distribution of the rare, precious treats. As Benjamin Benson arrived at the church late, he smelled smoke and saw telltale signs...

St. Helena Cathedral

On Christmas morning in 1914 at 10 o’clock, the fifteen bells in the St. Helena Cathedral spire rang out for the first time inviting all to the dedication mass. Fifteen hundred people filled the sanctuary to capacity. The service culminated a six-year building project, and the cathedral was still unfinished, but the community did not seem to notice the lack of stained glass windows and statuary familiar today. The Right Reverend Bishop John B. Carroll conducted a memorable service, noting the...

Friday Photo: Toy Hospital

Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, PAc 81-34.2732Great Falls firemen brought joy to local children from their toy hospital in 1923. The photo was taken by the Anaconda Copper Company photographer. What would you have brought to Santa for repair?

P.S. Remember this adorable kid?